Vegan Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls
Light and fluffy sweet rolls filled with creamy homemade lemon curd and lots of bursting fresh blueberries, these rolls are easy to make and so delicious. Spread them thick with lemon cream cheese frosting for the best afternoon tea or brunch.
There is something so nostalgic about baking with yeast. It’s a time so slow down and focus on the task in front of you and not let your mind run at a million miles an hour. These Vegan Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls were a work in progress, but I finally have them just how I like them. These rolls are:
- Thick and fluffy
- Light and zesty
- Oozing with fresh lemon curd
- Bursting with juicy blueberries
- Easy to make
- Naturally vegan
- Sweet and sticky
All of this and they are much more wholesome than the shop-bought kind and just make your house smell amazing. As these are yeasted (see here for my quicker no-yeast recipes) you do need to plan ahead of time and think when you want to eat them. I usually start mid-morning so they are ready for an afternoon cup of tea, but you can also make them for a brunch with friends and family, too.
These rolls are so easy to make in just a few steps, which I outline more in the method below, but here are the basics:
- Make the milky mix
- Allow the yeast to rest for 10 minutes
- Make the dough (much quicker in a machine with a dough hook)
- First proof for about an hour
- Roll out to a square
- Spread with lemon curd and blueberries
- Roll up into a log and slice into buns
- Arrange in a tray and leave for a second proof (30 minutes)
- Bake until golden
- Spread with lemony cream cheese and enjoy these buns!
So, they are fairly straight forward to make and they work every time! Make sure your yeast is in date and that all the temperatures outlined in the method are correct as these can cause issues if not. Now, let’s see what we need for these Vegan Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls:
- Plant-based milk: you can use any plant-based milk here although I like oat, almond or coconut.
- Vegan butter: there are a few different vegan butters on the shelves now which are so good and add the lovely buttery taste and silky texture to the dough.
- Sugar: any sugar will work here as it “feeds” the yeast in the dough mix.
- Salt: just a pinch to keep the dough active and add flavour.
- Active dried yeast: this is the powdered yeast that you usually find in pots or sachets and as this is a relatively small-batch recipe (it makes 9 Vegan Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls) we only use half a pack (3.5g).
- Plain flour: I have not tried this with gluten-free flour so I cannot say although you’d be best to stick with plain flour. I have a few no-yeast recipes which work well with gluten-free flours, too.
I have only recently discovered my love for using a standing mixer to mix my dough as it really is so much fluffier, lighter and smoother but you can certainly knead this dough my hand, it may just take longer. Allow the dough to rise in a warm spot and then roll out the dough to square before filling the Vegan Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls.
- Homemade lemon curd: I use my Easy Vegan Lemon Curd here as it has so much flavour and is so easy to make.
- Fresh blueberries: these will be better than frozen ones which will leak liquid and reduce the temperature of the dough which will harm the yeast and mean your buns are not fluffy. You can also try this with fresh raspberries or chopped strawberries, too.
Once the buns are baked, the next fun part is the frosting. Be warned, it is addictive! For best results, allow the buns to cool down before spreading them with the frosting so that it doesn’t drip off – and then spread on a bit more for good measure. It is sweet but not too sweet and works so well with the sticky buns. It is a really simple mix:
- Vegan cream cheese: this makes for the creamiest and thickest frosting!
- Icing sugar: for the lovely sweet frosting.
- Lemon: zest the lemon for a lot of flavour and zing to the frosting.
Once these Vegan Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls are frosted, they are good to go. These buns are so delicious with a cup of tea or coffee, enjoyed as part of a group brunch or made for afternoon tea. You will be very happy to eat these all day long! The best part? They also last well for a couple of days without drying out, so you can also make these in advance.
If you are looking for more yeasted and other dough recipes, how about my:
- No-Yeast Everything Bagels (No-Yeast)
- Strawberry No-Yeast Swirl Buns (No-Yeast)
- Vegan Espresso Cinnamon Roll Tear and Share (No-Yeast)
- Vegan Chocolate Hazelnut Panettone (Yeast)
- Vegan Chocolate Star Bread (No-Yeast)
Vegan Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls
Light and fluffy sweet rolls filled with creamy homemade lemon curd and lots of bursting fresh blueberries, these rolls are easy to make and so delicious. Spread them thick with lemon cream cheese frosting for the best afternoon tea or brunch.
Ingredients
- For the dough:
- 240ml plant-based milk
- 50g vegan butter
- 2 tbsp sugar
- A pinch of salt
- 1/2 pack of active dried yeast (3.5g)
- 400g plain flour For the filling:
- 120g Lemon Curd
- 200g fresh blueberries
- 1 tsp plant-based milk For the lemon cream cheese glaze:
- 50g vegan cream cheese
- 100g icing sugar
- 1 lemon, zested
Directions
- Gently warm together the plant-based milk and vegan butter until just melted. Check the temperature is lukewarm (it may need to cool down a little bit so as to not kill the yeast) and then stir in the sugar and salt. Sprinkle over the yeast and allow to sit for 10 minutes. The yeast with froth and bubble.
- Using a free-standing mixer with a dough hook, add 1/3 of the flour and all of the yeast mix. Begin to knead the mix and gradually add the rest of the flour within the first minute. Continue to knead on a medium-high level for 6-8 minutes until elastic in texture and smooth.
- OR, you can knead the mix by hand. Add the flour to a mixing bowl and pour in the yeast mix. Stir with a spoon and then bring to a dough with your hands. Transfer to a floured work surface and knead for 10-12 minutes by hand until smooth.
- Lightly grease a bowl and place in the dough. Loosely cover and leave somewhere warm for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough and tip out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to a large square about 36-cm. Spread the lemon curd all over, leave a 1-cm gap round the edges and sprinkle over the blueberries.
- Choose one end to start with and then begin to roll up the dough, pressing and rolling to make an even log.
- Slice into 9 equal rolls. Line a baking dish (mine was enamel and 22-cm (9 inch) square) with parchment paper and place the rolls inside, cut-side up, so they just touch. Cover loosely and leave somewhere warm to rise for 30 minutes. They should fill out the dish now.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 160Fan/180*C and brush the buns with the 1 tsp plant-based milk. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown around the edges and puffed up.
- Allow to cool on a wire rack for 30 minutes.
- Make the lemon cream cheese glaze by stirring together the vegan cream cheese, icing sugar and ½ of the lemon zest until smooth. Add more icing sugar to make it thicker or a splash of milk to make it runnier.
- Allow the buns to cool fully or enjoy them warm, smothered with the lemon cream cheese glaze.
- Store the buns, once cool, in an airtight container for 1-days (in the fridge overnight but enjoy at room temperature) and any leftover glaze in a sealed container for 3-5 days in the fridge.
I look forward to hearing what you think of these Vegan Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls so please let me know in the comments below. If you make these rolls, I would love to see them so please do tag me in your bakes – I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy. I’m also on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest – please say hello!
With lemon blueberry roll love x
Hey my friend Amy. Your Blueberry 🫐 lemon sweet rolls look so yummy 😋 and so refreshing for summer. I never knew putting lemon with blueberry. Splendid photography as always and saved to my WordPress saved collection. 😊 Definitely will tag you into my bakes using your recipes
I hope you will love them!